Shops for 300 pavement hawkers
Another 1,000 shops being constructed:
Rasika Somarathna
|
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa who handed over
new shops to pavement hawkers at Bodhiraja Mawatha, Pettah being
greeted by them. Picture by Chaminda Hittetiye |
Generating self employment avenues would be a prominent feature in
the Governments future economic thrust, Economic Development Minister
Basil Rajapaksa said while handing over new shops to over 300 pavement
hawkers, who were earlier evicted from the streets of Pettah.
The shops located down Bodhiraja Mawatha in Pettah were handed over
to the traders by the Minister on Saturday.
The Minister told the traders on the occasion that the Government was
always prepared to provide financial and other support for self employed
businesses if they fall within the legal limits and also if they do not
create unnecessary hassles to others. A special program to provide
necessary assistance to the self employed is in the pipeline, he added.
The Minister was of the opinion that the cost the Government had to
incur in order to generate a successful self employed person was minimal
when compared with the cost it had made when creating professional
manpower.
He also said that creating new employment opportunities both in the
Government and Private sector would not suffice to reduce unemployment
totally and that promoting self employment avenues could be an important
facet in solving the problem.
He told the former pavement traders that they were provided with
better and permanent facilities in their new abode and added that such
programs would be implemented in other parts of the country too.
According to sources another 1000 shops are to be handed to relevant
traders in the near future. |
